If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Are certain Pokemon not fit for fanfics?

I was playing my Soul Silver the other day when a thought hit me. I was battling a Dodrio and started to think how you could write about such a pokemon. Dodrio is supposed to have three different personalities, one for each head, right? If an author wanted to write about a Dodrio, how would they do it? Would they treat each head as an individual character? What if they nickname the pokemon? Would each head deserve a nickname? This same idea could go for Exeggutor or Dugtrio. If you have used these pokemon in a story, how did you do it? Are there any other pokemon you think authors avoid because of their design/biology?

Well some are certainly more challenging to use than others, depending on how in-depth you think things through. Like a Diglett is always partly in the ground... so how do you write it in a situation where the ground isn't dirt? I wouldn't say they were unfit for fanfics, just more difficult than regular creatures like Eevee and Ponyta.

I like to challenge myself with these oddballs. I haven't used a Dudrio yet, but I've seen one used at least once. It seems like one you could use a classic Id-Ego-Superego personality combo with.

Some Water-types are challenging too: Tentacool, the deep-sea dwellers like Huntail and Relicanth (although I have seen that one used too), Wailord (seen that used too). Ghosts require some consideration, but they're more popular because of their ghostly needs. I really want to see someone use Bronzor and Bronzong while acknowledging their weird 'biology'. They're hollow gongs/bells.

Last edited by Ysavvryl; 28th March 2010 at 3:15 PM.

Pokedex OS- Still trying to capture every single Pokemon out there in words: 648/718 Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh complete!

Well some are certainly more challenging to use than others, depending on how in-depth you think things through. Like a Diglett is always partly in the ground... so how do you write it in a situation where the ground isn't dirt? I wouldn't say they were unfit for fanfics, just more difficult than regular creatures like Eevee and Ponyta.

I like to challenge myself with these oddballs. I haven't used a Dudrio yet, but I've seen one used at least once. It seems like one you could use a classic Id-Ego-Superego personality combo with.

Some Water-types are challenging too: Tentacool, the deep-sea dwellers like Huntail and Relicanth (although I have seen that one used too), Wailord (seen that used too). Ghosts require some consideration, but they're more popular because of their ghostly needs. I really want to see someone use Bronzor and Bronzong while acknowledging their weird 'biology'. They're hollow gongs/bells.

for those mechanical appearing pokemon like the bronzor line/beldum line/ magnemite line, i would personally imagine them with a sort of indifferent
mechanical voice, and bronzor and bronzong, i dont know why, but i picture them having a deep echoing voice

Like Ysavvryl, I'd say they're more of a challenge than an unfit option for a character. Dodrio would be more of a challenge than say Dugtrio or Magneton, who's separate heads would be in concordance, sometimes/always conferring pointlessly before making a move. Dodrio would be fun, not to mention a wacky pokemon to use. not bad, PB Jack. Not a bad idea at all.

Come to think of it, a recurring character in my fic has a Doduo. This will be fun to expound on... :P

I don't think a Pokémon being challenging to depict should mean that using it should be completely avoided. Wouldn't it be more of a fun sort of challenge to attempt describing something like the way a Dodrio functions when all her heads are bickering during battle or a Girafarig's struggles to keep his tail from biting his friends? I don't really see why you would want to avoid things like that - there are some really fascinating Pokémon out there, and writing is a great way to expand on and explore them and how they might function. In my mind, it's all the more reason to use them in the first place and show readers your take on things.

Water-dwelling Pokémon are always a little annoying in that...well, you can't really feature them if there isn't some body of water around. You might be able to get away with Octillery and Dawgong, but good luck trying to make sure a Goldeen or Sharpedo or Chinchou get a decent amount of screen-time in a region not known for its waterways. Still, I wouldn't call that a reason to avoid using them, just an interesting sort challenge if you do.

If you've ever played the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games, the Dugtrio in the game always refers to himself as "we" and "us," but acts as a single Pokemon. So my thoughts on this issue is that the heads are cohesive and think as one mind, but are still three separate heads and so must refer to themselves as such by using "we" and "us" as mentioned before.

If I was to write a fic about it though... well, I'd make each head have a different personality but act as one. Head #1 would be the happy one, Head #2 would be the depressed on, and Head#3 would be the angry one. A little cliche, but that's sort of how I imagine it.

I was born a Unicorn
I could've sworn you believed in me
Then how come all the other Unicorns are dead?

Every pokémon can be used in fanfiction, it's just finding a way to use them.

A story set entirely at sea or at least near the sea (say in port towns etc) would make it difficult for and land dwelling pokémon to get screen time. I suppose you could have them on boats but then mean heavy pokémon would be excluded due to buoyancy issues. Hell, if you set a fic UNDER the sea, almost everyone would be excluded (water types being one of the most populous types notwithstanding)

I personally think a dodrio with three personalities wouldn't be that difficult if you go by a "pokémon can only squawk their names" route then it's kind of a non-issue.

"Drio" it's left most head cawed morosely.

Each head has it's own brain, each head therefore experiences the same external stimuli but each head would process it differently. If one of the heads was masochistic then maybe it would go out of it's way to get hurt, much to the dismay of the other two heads who merely experience pain as pain and nothing more.

Actual perceivable-by-humans dialogue would be harder, as you would imagine each head has it's own opinion on something that happened. If you want to be serious then Yssavryl's Id, Ego, Superego idea would be a good way to go. However if you're more after comedy relief then you could always make them into the Three Stooges as I believe that would be a riot.

I've used Dugtrio in my Dimensions of Darkness fics, and I always had him act as an individual and speak as an individual. It never really crossed my mind to have him speak like "we" and "us", so I just went with "I" and "me". This is the kind of reason that I don't use Pokemon like Dodrio and Exeggcute in my writing...

In my current fan fiction I have not used Pokemon like Dodrio. If I did then it would not be a problem as I have not made people understand their Pokemon yet. Once that time comes then it will become difficult. For Pokemon like Dugtrio and Magneton I always imagined them speaking in unison or one talking while the other two stayed silent.

Credit goes to MagicMochi. Check out their shop.

Originally Posted by Sidewinder

While it is very reminiscent of a lot of journey trainer fics, it held my attention. It stands out among a lot of the other fics I've read lately and I'm excited to continue the story.

This is slightly off topic, but I'm trying to figure out if I'm the nutjob or if someone else is the nutjob. I remember reading this story (or thinking/dreaming it) about a doduo whose heads could not get along, and their fights eventually turned physical, which lead to the doduo heads pecking at each other, until one head died. Actually, I one went think blind as its eyes were poked out, so one head, begrudgingly, had to rely on the other head.

Anyway! I usually rely on the pokedex entries to question if a pokemon, like a doduo, has different thoughts/personalities/etc. For doduo, one of its entries states:

"Doduo's two heads contain completely identical brains. A scientific study reported that on rare occasions, there will be examples of this Pok&#233;mon possessing different sets of brains."

And this one probed my curiosity:

"A two-headed Pok&#233;mon that was discovered as a sudden mutation. It runs at a pace of over 60 miles per hour."

And it made me think too much about pokemon. Like what kind of mutation? How did doduo continue to breed into the two-headed doduo? Blah like that.

And then it evolves and the pokedex is like, "lolokay, so a doduo's head decided to split and thus dodrio was formed" and I'm like, "omg how?" It seems to have more personality than it's pre-evolved form:

"An odd species that is rarely found. The three heads respectively represent joy, sadness, and anger."

So does that mean each head has it's own personality or it's just "represented" like symbols, but they really aren't like that?

Dugtrio is an interesting one, too:

Red pokedex: "A team of Diglett triplets. It triggers huge earthquakes by burrowing 60 miles underground."Ruby pokedex: "Dugtrio are actually triplets that emerged from one body. As a result, each triplet thinks exactly like the other two triplets. They work cooperatively to burrow endlessly."Emerald pokedex: "Because the triplets originally split from one body, they think exactly alike. They work cooperatively to burrow endlessly through the ground."

So I keep thinking how a dugtrio came to be. Were they, as diglett, like, "lulz, u like dig? me 2. lets join 2gether so only 1 of us has think k?" Then comes the idea of it coming into one body from three separate bodies. Magnetron (typo, but keeping it) is easier to imagine as they are, well, magnets and can just connect together like that, as the doduo's two head was answered with the vague "sudden mutation" answer. I guess dirt can be smushed together easily? D:

@Breezy- This makes a lot of sense. The way the pokedex describes Dodrio is the way I pictured them. But you're right about doduo and the whole "sudden mutation" thing. What is that all about? It does seem very weird, doesn't it?

I was born a Unicorn
I could've sworn you believed in me
Then how come all the other Unicorns are dead?

I'm not going to be able to recall the exact scientific terms, but I figure that the Dugtrio at least becomes that like budding plants grow new plants. You may have multiple flower stalks off one bulb. So, the main body of a Diglett is like a bulb, which grows multiple heads after it evolves. I don't know if it works that way with the Duduo/Dudrio split. Maybe it's like an emergent psychological condition where the trio mind potential is there in the Duduo, but does not appear until adolescence/evolution.

Which reminds me of Professor Rowan conundrum. Some Pokemon obviously grow and develop through evolution; the Azuril line and the Mime line come to mind. But then what about those that don't evolve? Do they develop differently, or are they fully developed when born? Then what does that say about immortal or not legendary Pokemon?

Those are some nice questions to get story ideas from.

Pokedex OS- Still trying to capture every single Pokemon out there in words: 648/718 Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh complete!

Some say each of us is the hero of his or her own tale. Some experience this more vividly than others, some desire it more than anything else and sometimes, just sometimes, these tales clash and intertwine when one least expects them to.

I actually used Dodrio as my character's starter pokemon in one of my fan-fics. To be honest, I have him consider himself one person, but he's also insane, so I suppose it's semi-justified. Of course, the same trainer owns an Exeggutor, and he has three personalities. I suppose it's somewhat self-contradictory, but I don't really care too much.

However, I'd like to say that the idea that certain pokemon are not suitable for fan-fics is silly. Any pokemon is suitable for use in fan-fics, so long as you know how to use them and you're skilled enough to do so.

Water-dwelling Pokémon are always a little annoying in that...well, you can't really feature them if there isn't some body of water around. You might be able to get away with Octillery and Dawgong, but good luck trying to make sure a Goldeen or Sharpedo or Chinchou get a decent amount of screen-time in a region not known for its waterways. Still, I wouldn't call that a reason to avoid using them, just an interesting sort challenge if you do.

When it comes to Water Pokemon like Wailord, Sharpedo, Lapras, etc - that is, Pokemon that realistically would need to be in a body of water.

However, in games such as Pokemon Battle Revolution, Mystery Dungeon, and even now HeartGold and SoulSilver, they're often depicted as simply being able to "float" in the air while out of their Pokeballs. While I know this is simply a mechanic to get around obvious issues of needing a body of water around in order to walk with your Pokemon in the games, I was curious if any authors or reviewers would find such a concept in a fic to require too much suspension of disbelief in order for it to work.

I like a lot of Water-type Pokemon but feel their use would be too limited as part of an ongoing trainer's primary team, so I was wondering if the games' approach would be valid - simply act like it's natural, or that it's some benefit granted to the Pokemon after being caught (perhaps some kind of bizarre benefit granted to them by their Pokeball or something like that). Or maybe this is just a lazy way out of the problem? What are your thoughts?

When it comes to Water Pokemon like Wailord, Sharpedo, Lapras, etc - that is, Pokemon that realistically would need to be in a body of water.

However, in games such as Pokemon Battle Revolution, Mystery Dungeon, and even now HeartGold and SoulSilver, they're often depicted as simply being able to "float" in the air while out of their Pokeballs. While I know this is simply a mechanic to get around obvious issues of needing a body of water around in order to walk with your Pokemon in the games, I was curious if any authors or reviewers would find such a concept in a fic to require too much suspension of disbelief in order for it to work.

I like a lot of Water-type Pokemon but feel their use would be too limited as part of an ongoing trainer's primary team, so I was wondering if the games' approach would be valid - simply act like it's natural, or that it's some benefit granted to the Pokemon after being caught (perhaps some kind of bizarre benefit granted to them by their Pokeball or something like that). Or maybe this is just a lazy way out of the problem? What are your thoughts?

For me personally, that would require far too great a suspension of disbelief. I like to see some degree of creativity and realism regarding issues like this, and water Pokémon who could just magically float just strikes me as silly and a little lazy. As you said, it's really just an easy method to use for games where nobody really cares, but in writing when you have a chance to expand on it and tinker with the ideas. I think there's a lot of potential to be taken advantage of in cases like this.

I have heard of a couple cases where writers got around the issue by having pieces of technology that created small bodies of water for such Pokémon, or something to that degree. While that might still seem like pushing it a bit, it's not entirely implausible in a world with the technology to cram fire-shooting camels into tiny little balls. Technology would probably be a better route to take rather than somehow implying that water-dwellers have evolved biologically to swim in both water and air.

...actually, that might not be a terrible idea to build on. A writer would still need to work on it to fully convince me, but there are options out there.

The things that one might consider a "problem" when considering using a Pokemon in a novel is often the inspiration for another.

I agree with this statement. I will use any Pokemon which comes along in the region and use it in a way I find appropriate. I find that it actually helps me in my writing to try to describe Pokemon with complex appearances and characters.

Current Progress: Chapter 1 of Version 2

Herptile Haven
If reptiles and amphibians make you happy, then discuss them here! Group maintained by Psychic Politoed.

When it comes to Water Pokemon like Wailord, Sharpedo, Lapras, etc - that is, Pokemon that realistically would need to be in a body of water.

However, in games such as Pokemon Battle Revolution, Mystery Dungeon, and even now HeartGold and SoulSilver, they're often depicted as simply being able to "float" in the air while out of their Pokeballs. While I know this is simply a mechanic to get around obvious issues of needing a body of water around in order to walk with your Pokemon in the games, I was curious if any authors or reviewers would find such a concept in a fic to require too much suspension of disbelief in order for it to work.

I like a lot of Water-type Pokemon but feel their use would be too limited as part of an ongoing trainer's primary team, so I was wondering if the games' approach would be valid - simply act like it's natural, or that it's some benefit granted to the Pokemon after being caught (perhaps some kind of bizarre benefit granted to them by their Pokeball or something like that). Or maybe this is just a lazy way out of the problem? What are your thoughts?

But some amphibian Pokemon do not really need a body of water. Lapras for example has the needed appendages to move around. Same with Dewgong and Walrein's evo lines etc.

What I'd really like to know is, how for Pete's sake Cloyster and it's pre-evo move around. At all.

Some say each of us is the hero of his or her own tale. Some experience this more vividly than others, some desire it more than anything else and sometimes, just sometimes, these tales clash and intertwine when one least expects them to.

I used a lanturn for one of my stories, though I had a little more flexibility because the setting was Hoenn. Compared to the other pokemon, yeah, her screen-time was a lot more limited. If I wanted to use her in battle, it'd usually have to be in double battles (i.e. she would use long range attacks, like confuse ray, and pretty much be a nuisance while the other pokemon could pick her up/block attacks, etc). In some cases, I'd have her use her attacks to move around, like shooting a water gun attack at the wall to push her backward.

Dunno. *shrug* I actually never thought of the "magically float in air" thing like perceived in the games mostly because it didn't seem all that realistic.

The main character of my fic has a Gyarados, actually one of the more important Pokémon in the story, who is portrayed as always needing to be in a body of water (I suppose one could theoretically argue that if any Water Pokémon can actually float, it's a Water/Flying-type, but that's at least not how it works in that fic). I've personally had surprisingly little trouble with that, actually; when I want him in a scene, I just put a convenient body of water nearby and have him sent out in that. When they want to train or give their Pokémon some out-of-Pokéball time or something, the characters will specifically seek out a good location near water for exactly this reason, so it's not as far-fetched as it might sound at a glance. Formal arenas like Gyms also generally contain a pool for water-bound Pokémon, allowing them to battle there. And the character has seven Pokémon, allowing him to have a full team of six even when he can't use Gyarados.

It really works out pretty smoothly; I don't think any reader of my fic would say Gyarados is particularly lacking in screentime compared to the other Pokémon, and the Pokémon generally get quite a bit of screentime in that fic, mind you.

Last edited by Dragonfree; 3rd April 2010 at 1:26 AM.

The Final Stretch - Chapter 74: Unraveling
The story of an ordinary boy on an impossible quest in a world that isn't as black and white as he always thought it was.(rough draft of the remaining chapters finished for NaNoWriMo; to be edited and posted)

Morphic(completed, plus silly extras)
A few scientists get drunk and start fiddling with gene splicing. Ten years later, they're taking care of eight half-Pokémon kids, each freakier than the next, while a religious fanatic plots to murder them all.

In my opinion, one of the motives for writing FFs are to entertain. Pokemon with flashy moves would be better suited than one strong Pokemon who defeats the opponent in a single sweep. Of course, a lot depends on the scene and the effect you want to portray.

What I'd really like to know is, how for Pete's sake Cloyster and it's pre-evo move around. At all.

aren't scallops capable of jet-propulsion? I think something similar could work there. If nothing else, their shells should be firmly attached to their muscular system. They could just as well hop if such is the case.

Originally Posted by spareux

The things that one might consider a "problem" when considering using a Pokemon in a novel is often the inspiration for another.

using Dive on land. Yup, I actually thought of a way to showcase that one.

Personally, I really like game adaptions that manage to capture everything about the base material, right down to the gameplay mechanics. Of course, I'm not saying "adaptions" should be no different from a playthrough video, but it is very intriguing when a story shows us material straight from a game, yet finds a way to present it in a more realistic fashion (with very few creative liberties taken). That said, I think Pokemon battles should be pretty much universal, including Water-types battling in any environment (one only wonders how people can stand most Water-types being so ridiculously limited as they are in most media... you sure as hell couldn't use them to your advantage in a Fire-type Gym). Some mechanics, like the fact that Pokemon have elemental types and that they're somehow weak or strong against other types (with a mathematical specification of "double damage" or "half damage" to describe exactly how much they're being hurt from such attacks) managed to carry across practically all forms of Pokemon canon, regardless of how realistic they act.

Yet in spite of this, canon rarely seems to reference the fact that certain Pokemon have stats that are better in some areas than others... instead, it just tends to have two Pokemon trading some blows until one goes down. Can you count the number of times Satoshi's Cotoise/Torkoal was taken out with almost no effort? Apparently, that ridiculously hard shell it has is practically useless. See, this is something I can't really approve of, because it basically showcases every Pokemon as being more or less equal and not having so much variety (unless they're "well-trained" or whatever, at which point, they're just shown to be pretty much invincible). For this reason, I really like looking at the games' base stats as a guide. To hell with what the Dex says, Pigeot and Kairyuu/Dragonite are not that fast (either that, or pretty much every Pokemon with a base speed higher than 91 is just capable of moving around at an utterly ridiculous pace, which I could see as being the case... on a similar note, Iwark/Onix has a base attack of only 45, so either it's using up too much muscle from holding up a thick, rocky skin to actually make a worthwhile attack, or even the weaker of Pokemon species are powerful enough to pulverize layers of solid rock with little effort). If a Manyula/Weavile's expected to do some damage, it should try tearing up the opposition with those claws it has, not an Ice Beam (high physical attack against sucky special attack, for those who don't know). Now that the 4th generation has finally designated attacks as physical or special, I say it's all the more sensible to adapt this way (and yet, not even the Special manga bothers to pay attention to it).

Last edited by Yamato-san; 8th April 2010 at 1:39 PM.

Yup, classes again. I'm gonna be at this for a while.

I translate for #Pocketmonsters (just because I know Japanese does not make me Japanese, stop PMing me).

It depends on the type of fic, and what Pokemon suit it best. Say a Sinnoh Fic, Some earlier Generation pokemon would really suit it (Pidgey, Ekans etc..) unless it's National Dex. It just needs clever thinking really. In my fics I stick to same Generation.